"spin off" do you think kids should wear school uniforms?

I liked Having a uniform. We had free
dress days once a term at school and I was teased because I had clothes from Big W instead of clothes from City Beach like everyone else. I hated it and told my mum I was sick on free dress days just so I didn't have to go.

I believe in expression but I think we should teach kids to express themselves in ways other than just their clothes. They're at school for 6 hours, 5 days a week - they have plenty of other time to express themselves through clothes.

Re: "spin off" do you think kids should wear school uniforms?

I think uniforms are good, but I am also all for kids showing a bit of their individual personality. I used to wear long stripey socks to school. I was lucky I went to a school that celebrated individuality. Amazingly, my high school I went to for grade 11 and 12 had very little bullying. Our entire grade was friends with one another yet the high school I went to until grade 10 was extremely strict on uniforms and the bullying was insane. It's why I left.

"spin off" do you think kids should wear school uniforms?

I agree that it's irritating when schools go overboard. I remember being in trouble because my socks weren't the right length. It was just ridiculous. I was clean, tidy and wearing my uniform, did it really matter that my socks were a bit short??

I think school colours are ok but beyond that I don't like uniforms. If there's plenty choice then that's fine but personally I found the uniforms at school really difficult (and it was just a public school so nothing extreme). The pants fit horribly on me, I hated wearing above the knee skirts. All I wanted was to wear knee length, baggy grey shorts like the boys but always got afternoon detentions when I did. So I made a knee length skirt out of two of the school skirts and then got in trouble for that! I think I just had an absolute idiot of a principal but I found uniforms very difficult as an uncomfortable, overweight teenage girl. When we finally got together a petition for shorts to be introduced for girls, they were of course short and only designed to look flattering on thin girls.

So yeah, I'm all for uniforms if they have room for everyone to at least be physically comfortable. Not all girls like to wear skirts and dresses.

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yup all for uniforms. The make it easier for kids to all look the same, plus take the hassle out of choosing what to wear. I went to a strict all girls school and it was easier to wear a uniform. My nephew went to a non-uniform school and i know it would be easier on him and his folks if he didnt have to pick out clothes to wear to school.

In more main****** environments, yes, I think a uniform is important for the reasons mentioned above.

In a montessori or other alternative education environments, no, because there is a different focus and approach to the way things are done. Children who attend those type of school probably come from a similar background/home/lifestyle, so they're most likely to be already equal.

Does that make sense?

I think this is where I'm at. Personally, I like uniforms and the school our kid will go to has a fairly strict uniform policy.

However I dont think all schools should have them.

I do find the insanely strict uniform policies at some schools a little over the top though. The school I went to literally measured the length of your socks and skirts with a tape measure, we could only wear plain stud earrings, and a plain gold or silver necklace for jewelry, rules about which black shoes etc. It was a bit much!

Having said that, if that was the schools policy then we'd support it or pick another school.

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"spin off" do you think kids should wear school uniforms?

I'm all for uniforms, and strict ones at that. It teaches kids discipline and to respect authority. When I was in high school, we would get a detention if our hair elastic was the wrong colour - we could only have white, black, navy or teal. They also had makeup removal wipes and nail polish remover in the office, and it was nothing for 10 girls to be in there on any given morning being made to take their makeup and nail polish off, and I now look back and think it was great!

Although self expression is important, it's important that kids learn (especially as teenagers when it's so easy to go off the rails) that breaking the rules gets you punished, just the same as speeding gets you a fine and not paying your bills gets your electricity cut off.

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I grew up in a very low socio-economic area and lots of kids at my primary school couldn't afford uniforms. They got teased horribly. At least if you just have cheap clothes it doesn't stand out quite so much as not being in uniform at all.

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Re: "spin off" do you think kids should wear school uniforms?

Originally Posted by GreenMama

I grew up in a very low socio-economic area and lots of kids at my primary school couldn't afford uniforms. They got teased horribly. At least if you just have cheap clothes it doesn't stand out quite so much as not being in uniform at all.

It's a tough one!

Our private school offered payment plans on school fees and uniforms etc,

Our public high school has govt funding to provide uniforms to people of low income status it's just not widely known or promoted